ME/CFS Evidence Browser — Classified Studies on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

4721–4740 of 6,209 studies

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

The Deleterious Effects of Oxidative and Nitrosative Stress on Palmitoylation, Membrane Lipid Rafts and Lipid-Based Cellular Signalling: New Drug Targets in Neuroimmune Disorders.

Morris, Gerwyn, Walder, Ken, Puri, Basant K et al.·Molecular neurobiology·2016

This review explains how harmful molecules called oxidative and nitrosative stress damage specific fatty structures in cells that are important for cell communication and brain function. These damaged structures may contribute to ME/CFS, along with other conditions affecting the brain and immune system. The authors suggest that omega-3 fatty acid supplements might help restore these damaged cellular structures.

NeuroinflammationEnergy MetabolismImmune System

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not requiredReview-Narrative

Potential use of visible and near-infrared spectroscopy for the analysis and diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (Review).

Sakudo, Akikazu·Molecular medicine reports·2016

This review examines whether a special type of light-based scanning called visible and near-infrared spectroscopy could help diagnose ME/CFS objectively. Currently, doctors diagnose ME/CFS only by listening to patient symptoms, with no blood test or physical measurement available. Researchers found that this light-scanning technique can detect differences in blood samples and thumb tissue between people with ME/CFS and healthy people, suggesting it might identify biological markers of the disease.

Biomarkers

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclearCase-Control

[Fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis: The oxygen clue].

Beretta, Pablo·Vertex (Buenos Aires, Argentina)·2016

This study suggests that people with fibromyalgia and ME/CFS may have problems with how their muscles use oxygen. The authors found that patients' symptoms worsened in low-oxygen environments (like high altitudes or low air pressure) and improved with treatments that increase oxygen availability, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy and coenzyme Q10 supplements. Based on three patient cases that improved with medical oxygen treatment, the authors propose that oxygen therapy might help people experiencing severe symptom flare-ups.

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor Genotype and Haplotype Investigation of Natural Killer Cells from an Australian Population of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Patients.

Huth, T K, Brenu, E W, Staines, D R et al.·Gene regulation and systems biology·2016

This study looked at special immune cells called Natural Killer cells and the genes that control them in people with ME/CFS compared to healthy people. Researchers examined specific genetic variations in 20 ME/CFS patients and 20 healthy controls. They found that people with ME/CFS had a lower frequency of a particular genetic pattern related to immune cell control, which may help explain why some ME/CFS patients have weaker immune responses.

Immune System

E3 PreliminaryCommentaryPEM unclearEditorial

The role of the hippocampus in the pathogenesis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).

Saury, Jean-Michel·Medical hypotheses·2016

This study proposes that a brain structure called the hippocampus—which helps control memory, stress responses, and pain perception—may play a key role in ME/CFS. The researcher suggests that whatever triggers ME/CFS damages the hippocampus, leading to problems with thinking, sleep, and pain regulation, which then causes people to become less active. This reduced activity further damages the hippocampus, creating a harmful cycle that keeps the illness going.

Neuroinflammation

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM not requiredMechanistic

MicroRNAs hsa-miR-99b, hsa-miR-330, hsa-miR-126 and hsa-miR-30c: Potential Diagnostic Biomarkers in Natural Killer (NK) Cells of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)/ Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).

Petty, Robert D, McCarthy, Neil E, Le Dieu, Rifca et al.·PloS one·2016

This study examined tiny molecules called microRNAs in immune cells from ME/CFS patients and healthy people. Researchers found that four specific microRNAs were abnormally high in patients' blood, particularly in natural killer (NK) immune cells. When they tested these microRNAs in the lab, they found they affected how NK cells work, suggesting this might contribute to ME/CFS symptoms.

BiomarkersImmune System

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclearObservational

Life according to ME: Caught in the ebb-tide.

Lian, Olaug S, Rapport, Frances·Health (London, England : 1997)·2016

This study asked 10 people with ME in Norway to share stories and photos about places where their illness felt better or worse. The researchers found that people with ME carefully balance activity and rest, and they seek out peaceful places (usually home) to recover while avoiding places that drain their energy. The study shows how the physical and emotional qualities of different environments directly affect how people experience and manage their ME.

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclearCross-Sectional

Implementing resources to support the diagnosis and management of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) in primary care: A qualitative study.

Bayliss, Kerin, Riste, Lisa, Band, Rebecca et al.·BMC family practice·2016

This study looked at whether special training and information resources for GPs could help them better diagnose and manage ME/CFS. Researchers interviewed patients and doctors in North West England and found that while the resources were helpful when used properly, most GPs didn't actually use them—either because they were too busy, didn't see enough ME/CFS patients to remember the training, or thought the condition should only be managed by specialists.

Diagnostics

E3 PreliminaryGuidelinePEM unclearGuideline

Diagnosis and management of undifferentiated fever in children.

Long, Sarah S·The Journal of infection·2016

This medical guideline helps doctors figure out what causes unexplained fevers in children and how to treat them. The article explains that many children who come to doctors with persistent tiredness after a fever may not have a serious infection—instead, they might just be deconditioned (out of shape) and need to gradually return to normal activities like school and exercise.

E3 PreliminaryPEM unclear

Nutritional advice for community patients: insights from a panel discussion.

Thomas, Linda V, Jenkins, Gill, Belton, Julie et al.·British journal of community nursing·2016

A group of nursing and nutrition experts discussed how to help patients with conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and depression through better nutrition and lifestyle choices. They reviewed real patient examples and recommended that nurses use supportive conversation techniques to understand what patients need, and refer patients to registered dietitians when major diet changes are being considered.

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

Understanding Muscle Dysfunction in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Rutherford, Gina, Manning, Philip, Newton, Julia L·Journal of aging research·2016

This review examined research showing that people with ME/CFS may have problems with how their muscles produce and use energy. Specifically, their muscles appear to rely too heavily on a less efficient energy pathway (lactate dehydrogenase) during and after exercise, and they have difficulty clearing the acidic byproducts that build up. These muscle-level energy problems could explain why ME/CFS patients experience severe fatigue and difficulty maintaining physical activity.

Post-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM requiredCross-Sectional

Dysregulation of Protein Kinase Gene Expression in NK Cells from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Patients.

Chacko, Anu, Staines, Donald R, Johnston, Samantha C et al.·Gene regulation and systems biology·2016

This study looked at immune cells called NK cells in people with ME/CFS to understand why they don't work properly. Researchers examined the activity of hundreds of genes that control how these immune cells function and found that many genes were turned on or off abnormally in severely ill patients compared to healthy people. This suggests that problems with how these genes are regulated may explain why NK cells cannot fight infections effectively in ME/CFS.

Immune System

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclearCase-Control

Coxiella burnetii dormancy in a fatal ten-year multisystem dysfunctional illness: case report.

Sukocheva, Olga A, Manavis, Jim, Kok, Tuck-Weng et al.·BMC infectious diseases·2016

This case report describes a young woman who developed severe, long-lasting illness after a Q fever infection and died 10 years later. After her death, researchers examined her tissues and found pieces of the bacteria (Coxiella burnetii) and its DNA still present in multiple organs, including her brain, heart, lungs, and spleen. This suggests that Q fever bacteria can persist in the body in a dormant or inactive form, potentially triggering ongoing illness.

Immune System

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM unclearObservational

Mortality in Patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

McManimen, Stephanie L, Devendorf, Andrew R, Brown, Abigail A et al.·Fatigue : biomedicine, health & behavior·2016

This study examined whether people with ME/CFS die earlier than the general population. Researchers gathered information about 56 people with ME/CFS who had passed away by asking their family members and caregivers. The findings suggest that people with ME/CFS in this group died several years earlier on average than people in the broader U.S. population, particularly from heart-related causes.

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

The Neuro-Immune Pathophysiology of Central and Peripheral Fatigue in Systemic Immune-Inflammatory and Neuro-Immune Diseases.

Morris, Gerwyn, Berk, Michael, Galecki, Piotr et al.·Molecular neurobiology·2016

This review examines why people with ME/CFS and similar immune-based illnesses experience severe, disabling fatigue. The authors identify multiple biological pathways that may contribute to this fatigue, including excessive inflammation, problems with how cells produce energy, and chemical imbalances in the brain and muscles. The fatigue appears to result from a complex interaction between the immune system, energy production, and brain function rather than a single cause.

NeuroinflammationImmune System

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM unclearReview-Narrative

Severity Scales for Use in Primary Health Care to Assess Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

Hardcastle, Sharni Lee, Brenu, Ekua Weba, Johnston, Samantha et al.·Health care for women international·2016

ME/CFS affects people very differently—some have mild symptoms while others are severely disabled. This study reviewed different tools doctors can use to measure how severe a patient's ME/CFS is based on their symptoms and ability to function physically and mentally. Using these measurement tools helps doctors and researchers identify different groups of ME/CFS patients, which could lead to better diagnosis and treatment.

Diagnostics

E3 PreliminaryReviewPEM not requiredReview-Narrative

ILLNESS IS WORK: Revisiting the concept of illness careers and recognizing the identity work of patients with ME/CFS.

Grue, Jan·Health (London, England : 1997)·2016

This study explores how people with ME/CFS manage their identity and daily life while dealing with an illness that society doesn't fully recognize or understand. The researchers use the concept of "illness as work" to show that patients are actively doing important identity work—constantly adapting to their condition, navigating medical systems, and coping with a stigmatized illness. This framework helps validate the real effort and agency that ME/CFS patients demonstrate every day.

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM unclearMechanistic

Serum BAFF and APRIL Levels, T-Lymphocyte Subsets, and Immunoglobulins after B-Cell Depletion Using the Monoclonal Anti-CD20 Antibody Rituximab in Myalgic Encephalopathy/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Lunde, Sigrid, Kristoffersen, Einar K, Sapkota, Dipak et al.·PloS one·2016

Researchers tested whether a drug called rituximab, which removes B cells (a type of immune cell) from the blood, helps ME/CFS patients by examining immune system changes. They found that some ME/CFS patients had higher levels of a substance called BAFF that activates B cells, but this didn't predict who would improve with treatment. While some patients did get better with rituximab in earlier trials, the immune cell changes measured in this study didn't fully explain why.

Immune System

E3 PreliminaryMechanismPEM requiredMechanistic

Metabolic profiling indicates impaired pyruvate dehydrogenase function in myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Fluge, Øystein, Mella, Olav, Bruland, Ove et al.·JCI insight·2016

This study found that people with ME/CFS have abnormal patterns of amino acids (building blocks of protein) in their blood, suggesting their bodies struggle to produce energy efficiently through normal metabolic pathways. The research identified a specific problem with an enzyme called pyruvate dehydrogenase that helps convert fuel into cellular energy, and showed that cells from ME/CFS patients produce excess lactate (a byproduct of incomplete energy metabolism) when stressed. These findings help explain why ME/CFS patients experience exhaustion after exertion and poor recovery.

Energy MetabolismPost-Exertional Malaise

E3 PreliminaryCohortPEM requiredCase-Control

A Pair of Identical Twins Discordant for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Differ in Physiological Parameters and Gut Microbiome Composition.

Giloteaux, Ludovic, Hanson, Maureen R, Keller, Betsy A·The American journal of case reports·2016

This study compared two identical twins—one with ME/CFS and one without—to understand what causes the illness. The affected twin showed reduced exercise capacity, abnormal responses to physical exertion, and differences in immune markers and gut bacteria compared to the healthy twin. These findings suggest that ME/CFS involves problems with how the body responds to exercise and changes in the gut bacteria that may trigger inflammation.

Gut MicrobiomeImmune SystemPost-Exertional Malaise

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The Deleterious Effects of Oxidative and Nitrosative Stress on Palmitoylation, Membrane Lipid Rafts and Lipid-Based Cellular Signalling: New Drug Targets in Neuroimmune Disorders.

Potential use of visible and near-infrared spectroscopy for the analysis and diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (Review).

[Fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis: The oxygen clue].

Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor Genotype and Haplotype Investigation of Natural Killer Cells from an Australian Population of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Patients.

The role of the hippocampus in the pathogenesis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).

MicroRNAs hsa-miR-99b, hsa-miR-330, hsa-miR-126 and hsa-miR-30c: Potential Diagnostic Biomarkers in Natural Killer (NK) Cells of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)/ Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).

Life according to ME: Caught in the ebb-tide.

Implementing resources to support the diagnosis and management of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) in primary care: A qualitative study.

Diagnosis and management of undifferentiated fever in children.

Nutritional advice for community patients: insights from a panel discussion.

Understanding Muscle Dysfunction in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Dysregulation of Protein Kinase Gene Expression in NK Cells from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Patients.

Coxiella burnetii dormancy in a fatal ten-year multisystem dysfunctional illness: case report.

Mortality in Patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

The Neuro-Immune Pathophysiology of Central and Peripheral Fatigue in Systemic Immune-Inflammatory and Neuro-Immune Diseases.

Severity Scales for Use in Primary Health Care to Assess Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

ILLNESS IS WORK: Revisiting the concept of illness careers and recognizing the identity work of patients with ME/CFS.

Serum BAFF and APRIL Levels, T-Lymphocyte Subsets, and Immunoglobulins after B-Cell Depletion Using the Monoclonal Anti-CD20 Antibody Rituximab in Myalgic Encephalopathy/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Metabolic profiling indicates impaired pyruvate dehydrogenase function in myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome.

A Pair of Identical Twins Discordant for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Differ in Physiological Parameters and Gut Microbiome Composition.

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